Mobile-initiated SMS cell broadcast

ABSTRACT

An alert message may be sent to a limited radius of electronic device users by an authorized user. The authorized user may use a smartphone application or may simply use a standard SMS messaging capability of the ‘electronic device to enter a request that includes at least a radius and message text. A base station or other processing entity may evaluate the authenticity of the request based on known caller ID information, receipt of a user identifier and/or authorization code. When the message is qualified as genuine, a requested radius for broadcasting the message may be used to determine what cell sites need to be included in the message broadcast to reach electronic devices in the requested radius.

BACKGROUND

The background description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. The work of thepresently named inventors, to the extent it is described in thisbackground section, as well as aspects of the description that may nototherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the presentdisclosure.

Communication during an emergency may be the single biggest factor inhelping to address the safety of people and property. For example, theAMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert system hasbeen used to help find missing children. The AMBER Alert system hasadopted policies for use that ensure a uniform and interoperablecriteria for taking action. These policies include confirmation of anabduction, risk of serious bodily injury, and a sufficient descriptionfor the public to be of aid. Once the criteria for an alert are analyzedand approved, a central authority may raise the alert on a statewide orlarger area. However, this analysis and approval process may delaydistribution of the message by minutes or even hours.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a first responder or other authorized person may issuean alert from his or her mobile device over a designated radius orcoverage area. The authorized person can initiate a very rapidlydistributed message to a local area without the delays associated withlarger area systems, such AMBER Alerts. For example, in response to agas explosion, a fire chief may be able to send an immediate notice tocell phone users in a very small radius around the incident. In thisway, persons in the vicinity of the incident may be informed withdetails and suggested actions prior to an avalanche of 911 calls orother panic.

In order to implement such a capability, several cellular systemcomponents are modified to include, but are not limited to, a databaseof authorized users, a service that processes an incoming request forSMS broadcast, and location evaluation/cell tower selection. The servicemay be implemented at a cell site or may be implemented via a serviceprovider outside a cell site. The service may also include per-personauthorizations for coverage area and management of message expiration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures depict a preferred embodiment for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art may readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesdescribed herein.

FIG. 1 is a system illustration of an environment supportingmobile-initiated SMS broadcast messages;

FIG. 2 depicts a requested message distance smaller than a correspondingauthorized distance;

FIG. 3 depicts a requested message distance equal to a correspondingauthorized distance;

FIG. 4 depicts a requested message distance greater than a correspondingauthorized distance;

FIG. 5 illustrates cell selection based on coverage areas and marginfactors;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary base station configured foroperation for mobile-initiated SMS broadcast messages;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device configuredfor operation for mobile-initiated SMS broadcast messages;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a display showing one embodiment for thedisplay and operation of functions associated with the emergency messageapplication; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method of sending mobile-initiated SMSbroadcast messages.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Emergency message delivery has been a difficult problem since thebeginning of mobile communication. For example, in the days of FMemergency radios, a police department may not have been able tocommunicate with its corresponding fire department simply because theirradios operated on different frequencies. Modern digital radio systemshave reduced many inter-agency communication problems but in many casesthere is no solution for a larger problem of emergency communicationwith the public at-large.

The disclosed system and method allow any of a preselected group ofindividuals to send SMS alert messages to electronic devices within adesignated distance. Such a process allows highly localized informationto be distributed to the public as well as other public safety andutility workers. These situations may arise in circumstances similar toan AMBER alert where the public's involvement may be requested, but mayalso be for the distribution of safety-related information such as a gasleak, a lockdown related to a criminal activity, a wildfire, etc. Inthese cases, information may be most helpful when it is local,immediate, and presented by a person on the scene.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a cellular system 100 suitable for implementingmobile-initiated SMS cell broadcasts. An electronic device 102 may belocated within a coverage radius 106 defining a cell 108. The cell 108may be serviced by a base station 104 that is configured for operationfor mobile-initiated SMS broadcast messaging. The base station 104 isdiscussed in more detail below with respect to FIG. 6. An adjacent cell112 may have a broadcast radius 114 and may be serviced by base station110. Similarly, another adjacent cell 118 may be serviced by basestation 116 and have a radius 120. As discussed in more detail below, amobile-initiated SMS message may be requested via the electronic device102. The request may include a requested broadcast distance such as aradius over which the message is requested to be broadcast. However,because the base station 104 may not know the precise location of theelectronic device 102, message distance calculations may be made usingthe location of a cell tower associated with the base station 104, thatis, the center point of radius 106. In other embodiments, where the basestation 104 may have location information for the electronic device 102such as GPS coordinates, the message distance may be calculated from theactual location of the electronic device 102. However, as will bediscussed more below, a requested message distance may not align withone or more cell boundaries so that only an approximation of therequested message distance may be actually implemented.

In some embodiments, coverage for a specified area may be calculated bya service so that selected cells are each provided with the message thatcell is to broadcast. The service may be hosted at a central operationor may the calculation of which cells to activate for the alert messagemay be calculated at the cell initially receiving an alert requestmessage. In other embodiments, the initial cell may send the message andcoverage area to neighboring cells, via for example, an X2 link, so thateach cell may make its own determination of both whether to broadcastthe message and to propagate the message to successive neighboringcells.

FIGS. 2-5 illustrate various aspects of a requested message distance (orradius) vs. an actual coverage area for the SMS broadcast message. In anembodiment, each individual authorized to initiate an SMS broadcastmessage may be assigned a maximum radius for which his or her messagemay broadcast. The maximum radius may be assigned by role, title, oreven message type. For example, a police chief may be able to send amessage over a larger radius than a patrolman or a state policeman maybe authorized for a larger message radius than a county sheriff. Inother cases, a police chief may be able to send messages over a largerarea than an fire chief, unless the location is a prone to wildfires. Insome embodiments, a message related to severe weather may have adifferent authorized distance than a message related to a crimeincident. As can be seen, the assignment of authorized message distancesare limited only by the imagination.

FIG. 2 illustrates a fairly simplistic case where the requested distance132 is less than the requestor's authorized distance 130. In this case,the requested distance 132 may be used for determining cell coverage(discussed below). FIG. 3 illustrates another fairly simplistic casewhere the authorized distance 134 matches the requested distance 136. Insuch a situation, either the authorized distance 134 or the requesteddistance 136 may be used for determining cell coverage. The third caseis illustrated in FIG. 4 where the requested distance 138 is greaterthan the authorized distance 140. In this case, only the authorizeddistance 140 may be used for determining cell coverage. In someembodiments, the authorized distance may be relative to the cell atwhich the request is received, assuming that the requestor is authorizedfor broadcasting from that cell. In other embodiments, the authorizeddistance may be more accurately described as an authorized area (such asa city or county) which may not exactly overlap a requested distance andcell center point, as shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary requested distance and the associateddistance calculation and cell selection. A plurality of cells 142 maycover an area. An alert message request may be received at an initialcell 144 with a requested distance 146. However, the requestor may havean authorized distance 148 that is less than the requested distance. Inthis illustration, the authorized distance, or authorized area, may notcompletely cover even the cell 144 at which the request was received.

Because the requested distance 146 is greater than the authorizeddistance 148, the authorized distance 148 may be used for determiningcell coverage. All cells which overlap the authorized distance 148 maybe activated for sending the SMS message. While this may result in aslightly larger geographic area than the authorized distance 148receiving messages it ensures that the entire authorized distance iscontacted. Of course, other selections could be chosen, such as onlycells with base stations (antenna) in the authorized distance 148 may beused for sending the message. In some cases, this may result in slightlyless than the authorized distance 148 being covered. As illustrated,cell 150 may be on a borderline for coverage. Rather than miss thiscell, a margin factor may be added to each requested distance. Themargin factor may be specific to a region, for example, someplace withterrain that affects coverage may have a higher margin setting than aflat, rural area. In some cases, the margin factor may be specific to arequestor, helping to ensure that particular messages areover-distributed rather than under-distributed. The margin factor helpsto ensure that all electronic devices in a coverage area receive analert message.

An exemplary base station 104 configured for supporting SMS broadcastmessaging is illustrated in FIG. 6. The simplified illustration of FIG.6 focuses primarily on unique elements relative to the currentdisclosure. In the interest of clarity, significant portions of the basestation 104 such as received signal strength processing, sector andadjacent cell handoffs, timing systems, etc. are not shown. Thisillustrative base station 104 may include a processor 202 coupled to amemory 204. The memory 204 may include an operating system and utilities206 that are used to support basic functions such as booting, updates,security, file management, and others. The memory 204 may also includeexecutable code 208 modules including those for location evaluation 210,message distance/area calculation 212. The executable code memory 208may also include a message processing function 215 that parses andevaluates incoming request messages and prepares outgoing broadcastmessages. The memory 208 may also include a data storage area 216 forstoring data.

The base station 104 may include one or more radios 222 used for two-waycommunication with equipment such as the electronic device 102. Anetwork interface 224 may be used to communicate with land-based systems226 such as network controllers, routers, switches, other cellular basestation, and in some embodiments, an external SMS broadcast messagecontroller with functions the same as or similar to those describedbelow with respect to the base station 104.

Continuing to FIG. 7, a representative electronic device 102 may bedepicted in block diagram form. The electronic device 102 may include aprocessor 240 and memory 242. The memory 242 may include an operatingsystem and utilities 244 that support communications via one or moreradios 258 as well as managing user interactions via a user interface250. Various utilities may also support downloading and executingvarious applications or apps, such as an emergency message app 246 andother applications supporting related or unrelated functions such asmapping, email, Internet access, etc.

The user interface 250 may include a display 252 and a form of userinput capture device such as a keyboard or touchscreen 254. A locationunit 256, such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver may providelocation information to both internal applications 246, 248, but also toupstream systems including cloud-based services. The one or more radios258 may include a wide area communication (cellular) radio, and one ormore shorter range radios including in various embodiments WiFi,Bluetooth, NFC, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a display 252 showing one embodiment forthe display and operation of functions associated with the emergencymessage app 246. In this illustration, the user may select a radius forsending an SMS broadcast message. Shown in this illustration is adrop-down box, but other input mechanisms may be used including directentry of a distance or more localized selections such as community orneighborhood. A message entry window 272 may include a text box 274where a specific message may be entered. Ideally, the message may beshort enough to fit in the character limit of SMS, but most wirelesscarriers now support split messaging allowing longer messages to berelayed. The text box 274 may include rules for message length andsyntax. Also illustrated in this exemplary embodiment is an optionalphoto attachment button that may allow the user/requestor to capture anew image or use a previously taken image to attach to the message. Thisfeature assumes a multimedia messaging service (MMS) capability, whichis also generally supported by wireless carriers.

In another embodiment, an emergency messaging application may not berequired. In such an embodiment, the authorized user may simply send atext message to a designated alert system number or short code. Themessage may require a predetermined format, such as the use of a colon(:) or other delimiter between fields designating distance, message, andoptionally, authorization code. For example, a user may enter themessage, “2: Gas explosion at 5th and Main, Guernsey, Crews are onscene, please avoid the area: 775!!214chief.” The message indicates aradius of 2 miles (or kilometers, depending on the locale), the messagebody as stated, and the users authorization code. When sent to thedesignated phone number or destination, the processing of the messagemay continue as described. An advantage of this embodiment is that nochanges are required on the part of the users device. With the additionof a name field to remove reliance on a caller ID of the phone as anidentifier, an authorized user could actually send the alert requestmessage from any phone or computer capable of sending a text message.

In some cases, the mere possession of the electronic device 102 may beenough to authorize sending the alert message. That is, that a messagecomes from the police chief's phone may be enough to authorize sendingan alert message. In other embodiments, an authorization code orpassword may need to be entered via optional window 278 for use by thebase station 104, or other service performing the messaging processing,in authenticating the user and establishing the right to send the alertmessage. In these cases, a text box 280 may be presented to allow theuser to enter the authorization code. The use of the authorization codeincreases the security of the system by using a two factorauthorization, that is, something the user has (the electronic device102) and something the user knows (the authorization code). In someembodiments, the authorization code may be hashed or encrypted prior toattaching to the outgoing message to prevent compromise of the user'sauthorization code. Other authentication schemes may be layered, such asa video confirmation of the user by a dispatcher, who may then send theauthorization code to the requestor, for example by text message. Whenthe, distance, message, and any other required data is captured,activating the send button 282 may cause an alert request message to becompiled and sent from the electronic device 102 to the base station 104of current cell. The emergency message app 246 may have a short codeaddress of the recipient or the user may have a list of addresses towhich the message is sent. In an embodiment, every base station in anetwork may be configured to accept alert request messages at a commonaddress so that every emergency message app 246 does not requirepersonalization for each cell site in which the user is authorized.

FIG. 9 depicts a flowchart of a method 300 of sending a limited-areaalert message via a cellular network infrastructure. At block 302, analert request message may be received from an electronic device 102 at abase station 104 message processing function 215 or other networkcomponent designated to process the alert request message. The messagemay be reviewed for metadata associated with the alert request messagesuch as a caller identifier (caller ID). Component elements of the alertrequest message that may be parsed are the message, the requesteddistance, and optionally, the authorization code. The caller ID may beused to confirm the identity of the requestor. If the authorization codeis hashed or encrypted, the message processing function 215 may need tocompare the received data to a hash table or decrypt the authorizationcode using a known key in order to confirm the requestor.

At block 304, the integrity of the data may be confirmed, for example,the parsing successfully found the required elements. Further, theidentity of the requestor may be confirmed as an approved sender. If thealert request message fails to be from an approved requestor or themessage body is lacking in some aspect, the alert request message may beignored, and optionally, an error message may be sent to the requestor.Execution may continue at block 302. In some embodiments, a response maybe sent to the electronic device 102 indicated the request to send analert message was denied.

When the alert request message is from an approved requestor and themessage is in good order, execution may continue at block 306 where therequested distance is compared to an authorized distance for thatrequestor. As discussed above, in some cases, no adjustments to thedistance are required and the ‘yes’ branch from block 306 may be takento block 308. If the requested distance is greater than the authorizeddistance, the ‘no’ branch may be taken to block 312 where the distancemay be adjusted as discussed above with respect to FIG. 4. Execution maycontinue at block 308.

A selection of base stations required for achieving the coverage area,either the requested distance or the authorized distance depending onthe user's settings may be made a block 308 using existing data formapping and coverage, as discussed above with respect to FIG. 5. In someembodiments, a locale may be specified instead of the requesteddistance. For example, a message request may specify a township or acounty instead of a radius distance. At this point, any required marginmay be added to help ensure coverage to the limits or beyond of the fullcoverage area. In some cases, the base station 104 receiving the alertrequest message may be the only cell required to achieve the requestedcoverage. In other cases, adjacent cells may be selected or even cellsbeyond those immediately adjacent to the initial cell may be requiredfor the correct coverage to be achieved. This may be particularly truein the case of newer systems, such as newer 4G systems and 5G systems,where numerous small cells may exist.

In another embodiment, the initial cell may simply send the informationassociated with the request to each of its neighboring cells via, forexample, an X2 link. Each adjacent cell may make its own evaluationregarding whether its coverage area is in the smaller of the requestedarea or the authorized area. If a cell determines it is within thecoverage area it may broadcast the alert message as discussed below andmay additionally propagate the alert to its neighboring cells. When anindividual cell determines that it is not in the requested or authorizedcoverage area, it may discard the request and not send the request toany cells further from the initial cell.

When the stations or cells are selected, at block 310, the messageentered at text box 274 may be sent to all electronic devices covered bythe selected cells. In addition to the actual message, in an embodiment,a location associated with the request as well as a timestamp may beincluded in the message. Finally, in an embodiment, the senderinformation for the message may be changed so that the caller ID for thebroadcast message may be “911” or “Sunnyvale Fire Dept” instead of thedevice from which the alert request message was received. In anembodiment, overlapping cells from different carriers may be activatedas well for sending the message. At this point, every electronic devicein the coverage area should receive the message. The electronic devicesmay include cell phones, tablets, and even laptops. However, in theInternet of Things world, it is not out of the question that even someIoT devices may receive the message, from refrigerators to automobiles,depending on such devices having the capability to inform persons intheir vicinity or take action on their own, such as locking doors, if soprogrammed.

Known techniques such as a message serial number and SMS broadcasthysteresis may be used to avoid sending and/or displaying duplicatemessages.

At least one technical effect of the system and method described aboveis the ability to selectively send messages to all electronic devices ina designated coverage area of varying size from an authorized user'selectronic device such as a smartphone. Requesting and setting adistance for message distribution causes the system to turn informationabout base station locations and/or coverage areas into an action forselecting the exact combination of base stations required to cover therequested area, with or without margin. The disclosed system does notrequire intermediaries to qualify and program messages as in the AMBERalert system. This capability to rapidly deliver messages to allelectronic devices requires programmatic and systemic changes to anexisting SMS or MMS infrastructure but the ability to very quicklydeliver messages to people, particularly in a crisis like a wildfire,may be the difference between life and death for some in an affectedarea.

The figures depict preferred embodiments for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesdescribed herein.

Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciatestill additional alternative structural and functional designs for thesystems and methods described herein through the disclosed principlesherein. Thus, while particular embodiments and applications have beenillustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosedembodiments are not limited to the precise construction and componentsdisclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations, whichwill be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in thearrangement, operation and details of the systems and methods disclosedherein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in anyappended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of sending a limited-area alertmessage via a cellular network infrastructure, the method comprising:receiving, from a mobile device, at a designated number, an alertrequest message; identifying a requesting party via metadata associatedwith the alert request message; authenticating the requesting party toconfirm an authenticated request; responsive to the confirmation of theauthenticated request, parsing the alert request message into arequested distance and a message; comparing the requested distance to anauthorized distance, wherein the authorized distance is a maximumbroadcast distance for which the requesting party is authorized;generating an actual distance responsive to the comparison with theauthorized distance, wherein generating the actual distance compriseskeeping the actual distance equal to the requested distance when theauthorized distance is greater than or equal to the requested distance;determining at least one cell tower associated with the actual distance;and sending the message to all mobile devices covered by the at leastone cell tower associated with the actual distance.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the alert message is a short message service (SMS)message.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the alert message is anmultimedia message service (MMS) message.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the alert request message is an SMS message.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein identifying the requesting party comprises extracting acaller identification from the alert request message and matching thecaller identification with a real person.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein parsing the alert request message further comprises extracting apassphrase wherein authenticating the requesting party includesvalidating the passphrase.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein parsing thealert request message further comprises extracting an image whereinsending the message comprises sending the image with the message.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein sending the alert message comprises sendingan identifier of the requesting party.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe identifier is at least one of a title and a name.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein generating the actual distance comprises reducing theactual distance to the authorized distance when the requested distanceis greater than the authorized distance.
 11. The method of claim 1,further comprising, responsive to a failure in authenticating therequesting party, an SMS message is sent to the requesting partyindicating the alert request message has been denied.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein determining the at least one cell tower associated withthe actual distance comprises: identifying a first coverage area for afirst cell tower at which the alert request message was received;selecting the first cell tower for sending the message; comparing thefirst coverage area to an area corresponding to the actual distance; andresponsive to the area corresponding to the actual distance beinggreater than the first coverage area, including at least one additionalcell tower adjacent to the first cell tower for sending the message. 13.A system for delivery of limited area alert messages via a cellularnetwork infrastructure, comprising: a cell tower including: a basestation; antenna; and network interface; a server coupled to the celltower, including: a server network interface coupled to the cell tower;a processor coupled to the server network interface; a memory coupled tothe processor, the memory storing executable instructions that whenexecuted cause the server to: receive at a designated number an alertrequest message including a requested distance and a message from amobile device; identify a requesting party corresponding to the alertrequest message; authorize the requesting party to send a limited areaalert message; compare the requested distance to an authorized distanceassociated with the requesting party; generate an adjusted distance forthe alert message equal to the requested distance when the requesteddistance is less than the authorized distance of the requesting party;identify zero or more cell towers adjacent to the cell tower requiredbroadcast the limited area alert for the adjusted distance; and deliverthe message to all mobile devices in a coverage area of the cell towerand the zero or more cell towers adjacent to the cell tower.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the memory stores further instructions thatexecute to cause the server to validate a passphrase in the alertrequest message.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the memory storesfurther instructions that execute to cause the server to generate theadjusted distance to be smaller than the distance included in the alertrequest message when the distance is greater than an authorized distanceassigned to the requesting party.
 16. The system of claim 13, whereinthe memory stores further instructions that execute to cause the serverto generate the adjusted distance to be the same as the distanceincluded in the alert request message when the distance is less than orequal to an authorized distance assigned to the requesting party. 17.The system of claim 13, wherein the memory stores further instructionsthat execute to cause the server to identify the zero or more celltowers adjacent to the cell tower that cover all of the adjusteddistance plus a predetermined margin.
 18. A method of sending alimited-area alert message via a cellular network infrastructure, themethod comprising: receiving, from a mobile device, at a designatednumber, an alert request message from a requesting party; identifyingthe requesting party via metadata associated with the alert requestmessage; parsing the alert request message into a requested distance, amessage, and a passphrase; authenticating the requesting party using anidentity of the requesting party and the passphrase; responsive toauthenticating the requesting party, comparing the requested distance toan authorized distance, wherein the authorized distance is a maximumbroadcast distance for which the requesting party is authorized;generating an actual distance responsive to the comparison with theauthorized distance, wherein generating the actual distance compriseskeeping the actual distance equal to the requested distance when theauthorized distance is greater than or equal to the requested distance;determining at least one cell tower associated with the actual distance;and sending, via an SMS message, the message to all mobile devicescovered by the at least one cell tower.